My favorite Japanese movie is a cult classic. You’d assume from that opening I’m embarking on a “Binging With Babish” cinema homage, but quite the opposite. Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” (1985) opened my eyes to why it is so hard to nail the nuance of a good bowl of ramen in the confines of the home kitchen (or a 500-word recipe). Of course I’ve tried, as I suspect many have.
The inherent paradox is that the simpler a dish seems, the harder it is to get right. Even with an interest in slow food, I am happily resigned to leaving ramen to the craftspeople, who execute the dish for less profit than their dedication deserves.
When I have done noodles at home, I have had more success with the bolder tantanmen. As I played with various nut butters, all of which were individually in my breakfast rotation, it struck me that they could be combined into a toast topping. Having enrolled loved ones as beta tasters, I am willing to out myself as the punchline of a David Chang quip about toast lovers and suggest that, when combined, many common ingredients make a conversation-worthy and uncommonly delicious topping.